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Mt Eden April Fool’s Prank – Truth Or Fiction

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You hear a lot of stories on the road and this one made me curious as to whether it actually happened as the story was told or if it is perhaps an urban legend gone wild. If any of my readers know the truth, please share it in a comment below as I can’t find a confirmation on the internet.

The Story: About eighteen years ago some University of Auckland students decided to play a big April Fool’s prank on the people around Auckland. They dropped a bunch of old tires into the crater of this long dormant volcano and set the tires on fire in the night so people waking up the next morning were greeted with what they perceived as smoking volcanic activity and before you could say boo, people had packed up their cars to drive to a safer place away from the impending doom. All roads were jammed with traffic and by the time someone walking their dog had taken a look into the crater and verified the hoax it took hours for the traffic to clear and many people were forced to take the day off.

Truth or Fiction?

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Cathedral Cove And Other Places For Daydreaming

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While out walking a couple of days ago on our way to a place called Cathedral Cove, I spotted what looked like the perfect place to take a nap. From a distance I could see a place in the trees close enough to see and smell the sea, but not exposed in the way one would be on the beach.

We were walking past in a hurry to reach the beach when I told John that I was going back for a photograph. I told him that I wanted to be able to remember it so that if I had insomnia as I sometimes do, I could picture myself there in the grass and focus on that instead of whatever might be keeping me awake.

After a snap or two of the napping place under the trees,we set off once more in the direction of the white cliffs above.

We walked an easy and well maintained path that was shaded with Ferntrees so large that I felt as if we were in a jungle part of the time.

Once we were almost there, we climbed down a long series of steps until we reached the sand on the other side.

John wasted no time in popping out for a bit of sun and photographs, while I stayed closer to the rock wall in the shade.

Yep, that is me sitting in the shade in my hat and even though you can’t see it, I’m wearing a good bit of sunscreen too. If you look a the photo below you can get a glimpse through the cave.

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A View From Above Coromandel Town

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I know the last thing anyone wants to read is me whining about how I have too many images to sort, but it’s true. There is so much to take in here on North Island, that I can’t make up my mind when trying to decide what to show you. Everything is stunning and I want to upload it all, but you would likely be as bored as someone forced by the obligation of friendship to sort through their friend’s big book of travel pic’s with the returning holiday-maker narrating at their side.

This has been the most interesting mix of different landscapes I think I have ever seen with a huge variety being observed during some fairly short walks.

Flowers are blooming everywhere and the scent of the honeysuckle blossoms warming in the sun made me go back in memory to my grandmother’s house and a time when the smell of summer coming was enough to make a girl want to shout out loud. Giving in to the memory and the sweet scent of nature, I did let out a little whoop sound which had John turning around to see if I was okay.

I told John that sometimes I feel like I am in a Jurassic Park movie with all the Ferntrees scattered about the woods.

On walks like these John can sometimes end up way ahead of me as I am constantly stopping to take a photograph.

Don’t you just expect to see a dinosaur coming around the next gap in the woods?

Just as I was tucking into some dinosaur day-dreams, I head a rustling sound and this friendly cat came down the path looking to have her ears scratched. After give her a little head rub I thought I was on my way to meet up with John when she followed me a bit more meowing loudly.

When I tried to go she threw herself down in front of me rolling around to get my attention.

 

I called her Cora since I found her above Coromandel Town and when I headed down the path she stayed behind.

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Manly Beach – Soft Sanded Surfer Heaven

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Elizabeth Harper & John Winchurch - Manly Beach, Australia

I posted the photo above on Facebook, but since not everyone has a FB account I thought I would share it here as well. I snapped this on Manly Beach when we took the ferry over from Circular Quay in Sydney. The wind was blustery that day with a storm approaching and we only had a moment to put our feet on the soft golden sand before the raindrops came to chase us off. Even though a storm was hovering just off shore while we watched, surfers were taking advantage of the waves.

Manly Beach Surfers

John Winchurch - Manly Beach, Australia

Here’s a look at Manly Beach from the other direction. There are huge trees near the beach that look like a type of pine and remind me of trees along the northwest coast of the US, but still are a bit different from any I’ve seen.

I’m typing in a coffee shop called Gloria Jean’s which has free wireless for one hour with a purchase. Free internet access is hard to find in Auckland so I have to keep things short. We’ve been paying for it in our room, but I tend to use it up too quickly as the download is limited and expensive.  Gloria Jean’s has good coffee, friendly staff, and yummy low-fat muffins, but my hour is almost up and it’s time to run off to see more of Auckland.

I will be back later to tell you about an amazing musician I met last night on Victoria Street here in Auckland. His name is Luke Hurley and you can hear and read more about him by clicking here.

His music was so good that after listening only long enough to snap a couple of photos, I paid $20 for a CD. We had a long listen back in our hotel room and loved it! Plus, I found out something very interesting in the minute or so that he paused to meet and speak with me. I’ll tell you next time when I have a minute to post.

Luke Hurley

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Amazing Auckland

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Auckland, New Zealand

I can’t stop to talk for long this morning as there is so much to see, but I just had to share this photograph from yesterday. We took a short ferry ride that gave me a chance to see the city of Auckland from a distance and it was stunning from every angle. I’ll be back in a bit with more photos hopefully later today.

We’re having a great time here and I wish I could could drop more images into this post, but my online access is limited so I can only leave you with a taste for now and the promise of more to come.

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Things That Fly In Sydney – Birds, Bats, & Qantas Airlines

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If asked what I found most interesting during our three days in Sydney you might find it a bit different to hear that I was completely intrigued by the airborne creatures and not the traditional sights more familiar to most.

While I found images like the famous bridge and Sydney Opera House good for a photo opportunity or two, it was the birds and bats of Sydney that captivated me.

We flew into Sydney on a Qantas flight with seats near the wing so the engine was in my line of sight for much of the flight. I noted to John that our plane had Roll Royce engines which was unlike any airplane that I had flown on in the past.

Rolls Royce Engine On Our Qantas Flight

I was a bit alarmed to see that the day after we arrived another Qantas flight out of London headed to Sydney had a problem with its Rolls Royce engine where pieces of it fell off. I hate flying anyway so I did a bit of obsessing about our flight in December when we fly on Qantas from New Zealand to America before deciding to leave it to the Qantas folks to sort it out. Everything about our Qantas experience personally has been good so I am going to go with the assumption that our flight home for the holiday’s will be as well.

Going back to my topic of birds and bats, this little bird kept trying to steal my banana bread when we first arrived. We had stopped for a coffee and a bite to eat in the  Botanic Garden on our walk to our hotel room and I was amazed by the bird sounds and sights all around us.

Sitting with our backpacks while John went inside for our coffee, I saw something that looked unusual from my chair in the shade and I could barely wait for him to come back so I could move in for a closer look.

Fox-faced bats were everywhere and I sought out a volunteer the next day who gave me an education regarding these bats and the problems they are causing for the park with tree destruction as well as the safe way they intend to relocate many of them to another location. They are protected and as I learned, play an important role in plant pollination.

Rainbow Lorikeet

The Rainbow Lorikeets I saw were using their brush-tipped tongues to get to the nectar in the pink flowers above. According to the people who work in the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, the nectar ferments in the heat and makes the already noisy and gregarious birds even more vocal as it makes them a bit drunk.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

This was just one of the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos that we saw all over Sydney. I was surprised at first, but quickly became used to seeing these large noisy birds that can live up to 100 years.

I will be back with more fun things to share about Sydney a bit later as it’s time to explore Auckland, New Zealand where we woke up to blue skies and a view of the water this morning.

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Seeing Sydney By Dawn’s Early Light

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Sydney Harbor By Dawn's Early Light

Arriving in Sydney Australia early yesterday morning just as many of you were waking or going to sleep yourself, we flew into a gorgeous sunrise and the beginnings of a journey I never imagined I would take.

While I have long had a list of 50 Things To Do Before I Die, trips Australia and New Zealand were not included. Travel is there of course, but closer to home and more familiar than the other side of the world to where I was living in Athens Georgia when I began building my list.

Looking back I have to wonder if some of the things on it were limited more by the idea of practical obtainability than the scope of my imagination.

Don’t get me wrong … there are some pretty far-fetched ideas written on that wrinkled piece of yellow legal stationary such as my desire to write a speech for a US president or play the cello like some of the musicians I had seen on stage.

Many dreams I imagined important in my 20s no longer matter and there are new ones taking shape in ways I could not have foreseen when I created my list in the late 80s while finishing my undergrad years and preparing for the birth of my daughter.

Turning 50 a few months ago, I realized that I needed to close the door on certain dreams. It seems very silly now to mourn for a lost life as a dancer when I never even had ballet lessons as a child. Truth told, I have such trouble picking up steps that I was always a disaster in any musical audition that required dance and early lessons probably would not have changed that.

Speech writing for the president is another dream that’s not likely to happen as people develop whole careers as speech writers, a path I do not wish to follow. And while cello lessons and practice would improve my skill with the instrument, I wish for smaller things with it now such as solo pieces I can play with ease for myself.

It did occur to me while I was sitting and thinking during our 22 hour flight to Sydney that a writer has the best career because they get to be anyone and do anything in the stories they create.

After seeing treetops filled yesterday with loads of large bats in a park near our hotel, I wondered if the Wright brothers had studied the bat and its wings when considering how to cover the wings of airplanes while dreaming of the possibility of flight.

Which led me back to who I really am as I began crafting a story outline involving Orville and Wilbur Wright. I may not have a pilot’s seat on the flight deck listed on my list of 50, but I can fly all of the planes in the stories I write and the possibilities are really much larger than that old list ever was as long I stay open when the opportunity presents.

This two month trip with John is one of those opportunities and I am wide open to possibility.

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New Zealand Travel Research – Traditional & More

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New Zealand Travel Guides

For all of you who included New Zealand as a destination in our upcoming extended holiday … you were right!

Even though we have Round the World tickets, most of our time will be spent touring New Zealand. While I usually book flights myself, this was one instance where I saw the benefit in working with an agency to book the many flights we will be on while we are away for eight weeks.

John has handled all the arrangements, bless him for that … for most of my travel life, I have been the one to take charge of the big and small details and it is so different to relax and let someone else do it. Having been to New Zealand in 1996 for six weeks, John knows exactly what he is doing and how to get the best experience for the money.

I would never have known that buying Round the World tickets were the way to go since I associated the RTW expression with the mega wealthy who might go for six months at a time and stop in more countries than the four that our toes will touch down in while we are away. Remember when I said we would be in four countries, well … one was to throw you off a bit as we will only be refueling there during the 22 hour first leg of our journey.

We can hardly count Thailand as it will only be a quick stop, but we will spend a few days in Sydney, Australia before moving on to New Zealand. If you live in Sydney and want to meet for a cup of coffee or a bite of lunch let me know. We are staying near the Botanic Gardens while we are there, but plan to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing after we recover from our long flight. If you have any suggestions for places around Sydney that we should put on our ” Must See list ” please leave them in a comment below.

Some of you guessed correctly that America would be on our list as well. After about seven weeks in New Zealand, we will fly to Atlanta to spend Christmas week with my family. I am really looking forward to showing John what Christmas with my family is all about and it feels like the perfect way to end our trip.

Getting back to travel research, we have gone through guide books both old (from John’s 1996 trip) and new, The Rough Guide To New Zealand, but none of these have photographs that do proper justice to the beauty of the country we are going to see.

The slightly unorthodox ” travel guide ” below has done more to get me excited about what we will experience than all the words in the books above.

Billy Connolly’s World Tour Of New Zealand

Billy Connolly is a comedian who I find screamingly funny at times, but has such a potty mouth that some of you may find him offensive. I know a lot of comedians can get pretty tacky on stage and he tends to put me off a bit with his bad language and constant references to sex, but when he talks about New Zealand (off stage) and shows us places he visits during his ” Too Old To Die Young ” comedy tour he shows us his softer side which is my favorite. (Off topic: I also think he is a fine actor and I loved him in the role of John Brown in the movie, Mrs. Brown with Dame Judi Dench)

John ordered the New Zealand World Tour DVD set above and we have been watching it for the last few days. It is broken into series of eight shows that mix New Zealand travel with segments of his shows performed in towns on both North and South Island. The country looks as magnificent as I have heard and I cannot wait to get there.

I will as you might expect be blogging from the road so don’t be a stranger as I won’t be completely away.

If you are a reader who lives in New Zealand and would like to meet for coffee, just give me a shout through email (found on my “About Me” page at the top) and I will get in touch. Suggestions from readers about what not to miss are always welcome so feel free to share your thoughts in a comment below.

We still have a few days before we go, but the house is such a wreck in places that I feel a little overwhelmed. I don’t know if I feel more obliged to leave it spotless as our housesitters will be family or if strangers would make me feel the same need.

What about you … would you worry more about order and neatness with family or with folks you did not know well?

 

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Doing Battle With A Demon

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In a world where people are starving, I feel bad saying that I hate waking up feeling full. While I cannot say that I have a food addiction, I do reach for sugars and starches in much the way I imagine people with more deadly addictions begin.

I wonder sometimes if not being able to say no to another slice of cake or reaching for another scoop of ice cream when you promised yourself only a taste … I wonder if that is how it begins.

One moment it’s five extra pounds that make your clothes feel a bit tight and the next time you look up from the table you are carrying enough weight to feel it on your bones in a way that makes your joints hurt. You get out a breath faster when climbing a hill and you begin to understand why people call a developing tummy a spare tire.

You notice it mostly when you sit, but you know if this demon keeps gaining strength you will begin to feel it affecting other parts of your body. Your heart will suffer in physical ways that you have only read about and cannot imagine because until now heart pain has been about sadness and regret, not clogged arteries and heart disease.

It feels both extravagant and weak to say that I ate so much before bed that I know I will not be hungry until just before lunch. I also know that people who have bigger issues with weight than my little bit will likely think, ” What is she talking about? “

What am I talking about?

I know that late night snacking is a demon for me that has begun to spill over into my daytime eating so that any occasion can seem like a reason to indulge.

Some people will say just stop.

Stop eating they will say, but I know that I need to do more than just push back from the table or add more exercise to my day. I need to face down my enemy and call it out from where it lurks … waiting as it does to offer comfort in my weak moments in the form of a sweet flavored treat or a salty bag of chips.

Worse than a simple lack of self-control it feels like something bigger gnawing at me from the inside creating a deeper hunger that food cannot satisfy. It is a demon with no name yet … this hunger that has grown larger than my stomach can accommodate.